


Don't Let Me In With No Intention To Keep Me

by orphan_account



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Animal Behavior, Evidence Of Violence, Fluff, Hydra Deaths, M/M, Non-Explicit Sex, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-13
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-17 07:13:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2301044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Bucky acts like a stray animal and Steve is really chill about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Let Me In With No Intention To Keep Me

Not once had Steve stopped looking for Bucky. Even after the terrible battle between HYDRA and SHIELD, the disbanding of the organization he had devoted so much of his time to, and the disappearance of Bucky, Steve had not lost hope. To him, the very fact that his best friend was alive and still out there somewhere was reason enough to keep searching for eternity until he found him. With the help of his good friends Sam and Tony, and even a little outside assistance from Natasha and Nick, he was gradually getting closer to finding Bucky. They'd tracked him down to his most recent sighting: in DC. That he'd come back there at all was peculiar, but it made Steve that much more optimistic. Maybe he wanted to be found. Maybe he wanted help. One could only hope.

In the (albeit unlikely) event that Bucky went looking for him, Steve had returned to his old apartment. While he wanted to be actively searching ever corner of the city for his old friend, he knew he might just have better luck remaining in the first place he'd met the Winter Soldier, just in case Bucky remembered and came back. Perhaps it was a dangerous approach, but he didn't care. All that mattered was getting his friend back.

What was surprising was that Bucky did indeed come back. What wasn't surprising, however, was that he wasn't quite all there. His behavior was akin to that of a stray animal, and at first, Steve wasn't quite sure what to make of that.

Bucky usually showed up at night, eyes bright in the darkness and body tense. He would sit on the balcony outside and watch Steve as he went about cleaning or making dinner or even just watching a movie. For the first few times, whenever Steve tried to approach him, he would take off as quickly as he had arrived, seemingly startled and uncomfortable with being too close to the other man. Though Steve spoke soft and reassuring words to him every time he tried to get nearer, Bucky never said anything back- just made a strange hissing noise and fled in a sudden haste.

But Steve had seen him enough to notice things about him- the raggedy state of his hair, the thick scruffiness covering his face, the dirty state of his attire, and the leanness of his figure. Steve began leaving food out for his friend. Nothing too fancy, just simple things he hoped Bucky would be able to stomach- sandwiches in sandwich boxes, wrapped up baked potatoes, thermoses of hot soup, bottled water, various fruits. Every morning after leaving food for Bucky the night before, he would come to find it all gone, save for maybe a few crumbs or garbage or the remaining utensils. And after awhile, Bucky began returning for longer periods of time.

There was, unfortunately, a week where Bucky did not come back at all. Steve was starting to get worried, to think maybe he should go out and look for the other man. But there was no need. He found evidence of Bucky's return one morning in the form of a dying HYDRA agent left groaning in pain and bleeding out on the balcony, words scribbled across his bloody forehead that read "interrogate me!"

Then Bucky began to make an alarming trend out of that, leaving dying or dead HYDRA agents and scientists on Steve's balcony. Steve brought the still living ones to what was left of SHIELD, or got help disposing of the dead ones. His friends expressed worry over Bucky's behavior, but Steve recognized it for what it was. The bodies of Hydra were gifts, and Bucky was trying to return Steve's kindness of feeding him. It was almost sweet, in a creepy homicidal sort of way.

Steve didn't stop leaving food out for Bucky, always making enough dinner for the two of them. Eventually, Bucky began to leave reviews and requests in the form of small notes, or sometimes just words written out on severed HYDRA agent limbs. "Those cookies were really good." "More milk?" "Don't make that soup again. It was bad." "Potatoes tomorrow, please."

And sure enough, Bucky began to spend more time out on the balcony. Sometimes he would sit there and watch whatever Steve was watching with him. Steve didn't bother to get up, not wanting to scare away his friend and ruin the moment. He started putting on more films he thought Bucky might enjoy. Sometimes he even got bold enough to leave out notes of his own. "We're watching Star Wars on Wednesday. Starting at around 8PM. Don't be late!"

After a couple months, he began leaving the sliding glass doors of the balcony open. Bucky would peek in through- it was easier to watch the movie that way than through the shiny glass. He started moving further and further into the apartment each day, until eventually, he ended up sitting beside the couch. He was still wary, but it was slowly fading into familiarity and understanding that Steve meant safe, kind, friend.

Steve was surprised one night when he felt a long-haired head nudge at his hand, and looked down to see Bucky sitting at his feet. Bucky nudged at his hand again, and Steve smiled before running his fingers through the dark locks. They were tangled and dirty, but he didn't mind it too much. He was just happy to have his friend closer to him.

And one night, Bucky didn't leave as usual. Rather than running off after the movie ended, he just hopped up onto the couch and pushed at Steve. Steve took the hint and got up, turning off the television and cleaning up the kitchen. When he went back into the living room, Bucky was curled up comfortably on the couch, half-asleep. "'Night, Buck," Steve had said softly before heading back to his bedroom for some sleep of his own. He could have sworn he heard a quiet "Goodnight, Steve." before he turned out the lights.

He usually woke up in the morning to find Bucky had left, the balcony door closed behind him. Steve made an effort to get up earlier than Bucky, eventually being up just in time to make them both some breakfast before Bucky ventured off to wherever it was he went when he wasn't with Steve. The HYDRA agent bodies stopped appearing on the balcony, and one night Bucky apologized for it, "I haven't been able to find any more. I'm sorry." Steve wasn't entirely sure how to respond to that.

"Where do you go?" he finally brought himself to ask one morning as they munched away on some freshly made pancakes. Bucky swallowed hard, looked up at him, and replied evenly, "I search." Steve furrowed his brow in confusion, "For what?" Bucky looked away, "For the man I used to be." They finished their meal in silence, and Steve let Bucky go back on his search.

They were making progress, slowly but surely. One morning saw Bucky sitting on the couch, trying with little success to get Steve's comb through his wild mess of hair. Steve felt bad for Bucky, and offered to assist him. Bucky ended up staying longer than usual, as it took quite some time for Steve to get through all of his hair without hurting him.

Another morning found Bucky in the bathroom, sitting in the filled tub and looking vaguely lost. When Steve walked into the bathroom, Bucky just looked up and held out the bottle of shampoo to him. Steve didn't hesitate to come over, kneeling down beside the tub and washing Bucky's hair. When he offered the washcloth to Bucky so he could finish cleaning himself, Bucky just shoved it away, and Steve ended up washing his body too. Not that either of them minded. It was an exercise in trust.

Bucky started spending less and less time outside of the apartment, sleeping on the couch a lot like he hadn't had any real sleep in ages- which was probably very likely. But Steve always left his bedroom door open, just in case. Come winter, the temperature dropped and Bucky huddled under thick blankets for warmth. But before long, that just wasn't good enough.

Steve stirred as he felt a sudden weight on the bed one night, looking up to see Bucky, wrapped up in his blankets and curling up beside Steve. He slept on top of the covers for about a week, before finally sliding underneath to cuddle against Steve. Bucky got cold strangely easily, or maybe he just didn't like the cold very much, and Steve gave off heat like a furnace. It was a perfect match.

They were talking more and more, bits of Bucky's true nature shining through in their conversations. Bucky was spending so little time outside their apartment by then, it was like he hardly ever left. It had been about a year since Bucky had first shown up on the balcony, and they had come such a long way since then.

One night, Bucky wasn't in the living room for their usual after-dinner movie. Steve waited for a few minutes before finally getting up, his curiosity and slight worry bringing him to their bedroom. His breath caught in his throat when he found Bucky naked and waiting for him.

"Steve.." Bucky murmured softly, holding out his flesh hand to the other man. Steve made his way over to Bucky, taking his hand and letting himself be pulled in for a kiss. It was tender and sweet and perfect. Then Bucky was pulling away- only to move onto all fours on the bed, presenting himself submissively to Steve. Steve couldn't help but shudder in want at the beautiful sight of Bucky like that, completely trusting, as he turned his head to look back at Steve longingly and expectantly.

They made love with slow and gentle movements, taking time to ease into things. Bucky fell asleep draped on top of Steve, the both of them tired and sated. Steve hardly even minded the weight of the body settled onto him, tracing his fingers down Bucky's back just to hear the soft purring sounds he made in his sleep.

It took awhile for Bucky to get used to Steve's friends, but he was in the mindset that, if Steve trusted them, then surely they couldn't be all that bad. Some of them would crack jokes about the way Bucky followed Steve around everywhere, like a loyal pet. But neither Steve nor Bucky seemed to mind. They were together again, and they wouldn't have had it any other way.


End file.
